Newbie question on speaker-receiver powering

[arcticranger]

I am not an audio expert as you will see.

I bought a pair of Yamaha L830's yesterday at J&R in New York. Specs on these say

max recommended amp power: 150W
power handling (continuous/peak): 75W/300W

intended to use these with an old Yamaha AX-400U which is 55W per channel amp. Only had the time to hook up the right speaker this morning and test 3 different CDs, soft electronic to heavy rock.

At the quietest sections of music I am getting either nothing or a crackling noise, which kinda freaked me out. I'd given the guy at J&R the receiver specs and he'd assured me the AX-400U could drive the JBLs.

The wiring is pretty old, it was used ten years ago for a Yamaha NS10 setup with banana plugs. I tore those off today and went straight wire into the receiver and speaker.

I don't want to damage these with a too-low input, or incorrect wiring.

Any advice?

arc

[markw]

Whatever you're hearing is not a function of the wire. Virtually any speaker cable between a size of 18 gauge* on up (lower numbers) will serve you well. Even a smaller wire wouldn't cause the problem you're describing, though.

*12 to 16 gauge seems to be the standard, though.

[blackraven]

I agree, change out the speaker wire to 16g or heavier, especially if you have long runs like 20' or more. The old wire may be oxidized on the ends. If that does not fix the problem, then its either the amp, speakers or recordings.

[arcticranger]

Thanks for the responses. I will try changing the wire this week. No one seems concerned about the receiver to speaker wattage, is that not an issue at all?

thx again.

[markw]

Thanks for the responses. I will try changing the wire this week.

...or you could simply strip the bare ends and see what happens. Wires may oxidize but they don't wear out.

No one seems concerned about the receiver to speaker wattage, is that not an issue at all?

Not really. You're smart enough to know that if it starts to sound funky you should turn it down immediately. That's really all there is to it.

[02audionoob]

I would also be comfortable with the amplifier power rating for these speakers. Do you have another pair of speakers you could test with the amp...to rule out the possibility that the problem is in the speakers?

[arcticranger]

Final Report.

I bought 16 guage wire and used banana plugs on the AX-400U side. The result was just as in my first post, crackling, sound in and out, very low amplitude and one terrifying little pop. Stopped the system and had a vodka.

I then said screw the banana plugs (again) and went straight wire into both speakers and receiver. Noticed that the gold metal plate which joins the top and bottom terminals on each speaker were not sitting correctly under the wire. Fixed that.

Heavenly sound.

The issues seem to have been the female banana terminals on the receiver and sloppy placement of the gold plates on the speaker terminals.

What are those joining plates called?

Thx for all the help mates!

arc

[02audionoob]

What are those joining plates called?

Those plates from the top terminal to the bottom are usually called jumpers. It's good to hear you got it solved.